Drivers on road to ruin thanks to fuel pump error

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is facing compensation claims running into tens of thousands of pounds after its petrol pumps at a city garage were accidentally filled with diesel.

A number of cars were severely damaged as a result of the "human error" at Colinton Mains Tesco, with experts estimating the repair costs could be up to 7000 per vehicle.

Tesco confirmed it was in the process of dealing with compensation claims being made by motorists.

A spokesman for the company could not say exactly how many customers had been affected by the mistake but said it was "in double figures".

Murdo Guy, a fuel draining mechanic, has been contacted by some of the drivers who accidentally filled their cars with the wrong fuel.

The specialist, who works for Fuel Fixer, said the cars could have easily been fixed if they had not been driven, but because people were unaware there was a problem they had just been using their vehicles as normal.

Mr Guy said: "We didn't actually get called out to do fuel drains on any of the cars because the people involved didn't know it had happened.

"The cost to repair the cars is probably around 5000 to 7000 because a light engine rebuild is needed so it's quite a sore one.

"If you drain a fuel tank very quickly you mitigate the damage but if you keep driving it you damage the system."

Mr Guy said that he would have expected Tesco to play back the CCTV from the petrol station forecourt and use the DVLA database to try to track down the customers who filled up with the wrong fuel, in an effort to prevent them causing further damage to their vehicles.

He added: "I would guess that quite a few people have had unexplained car problems and suffered serious damage as a result of this."

One customer affected by the mistake at Tesco said: "My car was towed away and estimates have been ball park 8000 to fix it.

"Tesco will be getting a hefty bill."

Another customer who was put in touch with the Tesco contact centre in Dundee said the company had been "very unhelpful" and had only offered a "goodwill gesture" of 100.

A Tesco spokesman said petrol station staff noticed the mistake, which took place on December 23, "pretty quickly".

He added: "We have been in touch with customers affected.

"If any customers feel they have been impacted, we would urge them to contact the store."